Yesterday when I picked up Miss T from daycare they told me that she had vomited twice, once after each solid meal.  She had also been running a low-grade fever, but not enough to call me at work.  So after that report, I began to suspect that maybe she had another stealth ear infection.  I decided to stay home today and take her to the doctor as soon as I could.

I called as soon as the office opened at 8 a.m. and the soonest we could get in was 9:35.  (By the way, who are these people that manage to get the very first appointments of the day?  I literally called at 8 on the nose and had to wait forever, presumably so all of these faster people could set up their visits.  Maybe they know something I don’t know.)   One of the nice things about our pediatrician’s office, though, is that if you show up a little early they usually can take you back sooner.  We made it in at 9:15ish and were seen almost immediately.

Miss T was very fussy because she hadn’t managed to get in a decent nap.  Also because I hadn’t given her any ibuprofen in a while – I always hate to dose her up right before we go see the doctor.  So I was trying to wrestle her out of her clothes to be weighed and have her temperature taken, and she was screaming and thrashing the whole time.   Then the nurse apparently thought it would be better to put her on the scale lying down, rather than allowing her to sit as they usually do.  This resulted in a delay as the nurse then puzzled over what to do about her legs, which were of course hanging off the end of the scale and consequently not measuring into her weight correctly.  It was all very stupid.  And quite loud because of the continuous screaming.  (Screaming which increased eleventy-fold when it was time to take Miss T’s temperature – not that I can blame her for that, given the manner in which they do it.)

ANYWAY, the doctor finally came in and Miss T’s ears looked just fine.  Hmm.  But since she had spiked a fever of 103 and didn’t really have any other symptoms other than random puking, the doctor wanted to do a few more tests.  And by that she meant get a urine sample and a blood count.

Do you know how they get a urine sample from a baby girl?  Apparently, “the easiest way” is to use a catheter.  That was exciting.  Follow it up with a finger stick on an already pissed-off baby, and it is fun for everyone.  Whee!

Good news – Miss T does not have a urinary tract infection, or any other sort of infection that would require antibiotics.  After all of that it turned out to be one of those visits where the doctor just says that it is viral and there’s not much to be done.  Swell.

So here I am, at home with a feverish and temperamental baby, thanking my lucky stars that this didn’t happen last week when it probably would have sent me straight over the edge.  Small favors, I guess.